Today, in the age of skyscrapers and skyscrapers, more than ever, the question is relevant: is it harmful to live on high floors? To understand this issue and be sure to the end, in this article we will give you all the pros and cons of housing above the 7th floor.
Prospect for the development of high-rise buildings
Today, the technology of building houses has changed a lot - back in the last century there was a completely different approach: the longer the house, the larger it is. In million-plus cities, long houses of the old type still remain. In Russia and the CIS countries, such buildings were built mainly in the Soviet years. At that time, the apartments were mostly of the same plan, and the height of the houses reached a maximum of 12 floors. But now the situation has changed dramatically - it is more convenient for builders to build houses upwards, because such "house-points" take up little space compared to their counterparts. Buildings start to reach 25-30 floors, and some of them become skyscrapers at 50 floors in height.
Is it harmful to live on high floors? This question worries mainly those who decide to buy an apartment in such a building. And these are young families with children,e.g.
Benefits
But first, let's talk about the benefits of living in a high-rise building.
- You have a magnificent panorama, a beautiful view. From the aesthetic side, such buildings offer the owner of apartments on the upper floors to enjoy an impressive view from the window.
- Many insects (mosquitoes, wasps, midges) do not reach high floors. If you do not like flying insects, which become abundant in the summer, then an apartment in a tall building is your choice. Not only can most pests simply not get to you, statistics show that the likelihood of cockroaches and other insects spreading is much less (especially if you do not have pets in your apartment).
- The air is cleaner as you move away from the ground. This is a scientific fact. Heavy metals settle below the 7th floor. Emissions from factories and enterprises greatly affect the state of the environment in large cities. So far, no better solution has been found than to live as high as possible so that harmful substances do not enter your body.
- Relative silence: cars, trains or loud music from the street won't hurt you. Probably, each of you met in the evening with a loud alarm from a car or other extraneous noise on the street while relaxing. An apartment on a high floor will provide more silence from such inconveniences than an apartment on the first 5 floors.
Flaws
Now it's worth talking about the disadvantages of living in high-rise buildings. About whether it is harmful to live on high floors, you will learn from the following disadvantages:
- nebula;
- increased fire hazard;
- stale air;
- probability of elevator breakdowns;
- power lines;
- unable to open windows;
- inconvenience of caring for pets;
- expensive.
But first things first.
Nebula
So, it's probably worth starting with the fact that the average person does not quite understand that with a high probability of nebula, he will be very uncomfortable. The higher the floor, the more foggy, if we talk about this phenomenon without going into details. Is it harmful to live on high floors during fog? In some cases, yes.
In big cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg, the phenomenon of smog is often observed. It is formed from many factors, and all of them are often associated with the environment. During smog, the air becomes toxic and can cause both asthma in asthmatics and more serious problems even in he althy people. If you're looking to buy an apartment on a high floor, first check the weather reports for the city you're going to live in to help you make the right choice.
Increased fire hazard
This category of harm is more related to skyscrapers or very tall buildings. The fact is that they are lined with glass or its derivatives. Glass transmits light, but it also has the ability to reflect it. Moreover, it is so intense that some glare can heat up a nearby tree, for example. Like a magnifying glassthe skyscraper itself can heat up, and if its builders did not count on it, force majeure can occur. Is it harmful to live above the 7th floor if the house heats up? Yes, definitely. Hot walls increase the overall fire risk.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that in case of a real fire it is much more difficult to evacuate from a high-rise building. A high floor is harmful from the point of view of fire safety - the closer the apartment is located to the exit from the building, the more likely it is to leave it in an emergency without taking damage. This should also be considered when choosing a tall building for an apartment.
History knows many cases when, due to fires in high-rise buildings, not everyone had time to take the right evacuation measures.
Stuck air
Is it harmful to live on high floors? The medical view and assessment suggests that as you move away from the earth, the air becomes more stale. Oxygen is formed from the foliage of plants, and the tallest plants in the city are trees. From the point of view of ecology, the most comfortable floor for housing will be the one that is at the same height as the crowns of trees. In general, a house located next to a park or forest belt is an excellent combination for the younger generation. Children perceive clean air and the environment much better than adults, so if you have a child, first of all think about his future.
When a person consumes oxygen, the air becomes stale and lighter, heading higher and higher. So if you reside too high - up to youonly stale air will come in. It is less useful and unsaturated. High floors are bad for he alth.
Today this problem is being solved by building high-rise buildings on the outskirts of the city: creating artificial parks and reserves, and digging riverbeds. As new residential areas are settled, trees and bushes are planted. But then again, in modern residential complexes there are a lot of people, and after a while there are a lot of cars. This explains why it is harmful to live above the 7th floor. People who live too high have practically no undischarged air. But if you leave the house every day and take a walk, then the artificial park will help you get enough clean and fresh air.
Probability of elevator breakdowns
Imagine you live on the 25th floor. Your house has several elevators, as expected, but suddenly it happens that all of them at one moment become unavailable, or simply out of order. What to do? That's right, there is only one way out - to head home on foot, up the stairs. Naturally, many will consider walking as a plus - training for the body, but not all people run in the morning and go in for sports. Therefore, it is impossible to say for sure which floor above is unhe althy to live in terms of such a force majeure.
Fortunately, today in every new high-rise building, elevators are duplicated, and in some front rooms, both 3 and 4 elevators are installed. It all depends on the means and the desire of the developer to make his home more comfortable.
Power lines
Few people know, but power lines have a detrimental effect on he alth. High-voltage portals, power lines and substations create an electromagnetic field of a certain radius during their operation. This is confirmed by many studies. Is it harmful to live on high floors if there is a power line nearby? Definitely yes. You do not notice, but the electromagnetic field affects you constantly in different situations: telephone network, wireless Internet, antennas - all these devices create a field around them. True, it is worth making a reservation, because the fields emitted by these devices are normalized and even when working together they cannot cause much harm to he alth.
But with power grids and towers standing next to houses, the situation is different: as a rule, if a power line passes near a new building, this means that the developer simply decided to save money on the construction site. And people living on high floors can really be at risk. The electromagnetic field affects the human psyche. You become more irritable and depressed. Prolonged exposure to the field can even lead to infertility, so when choosing an apartment in a high-rise building, you need to pay attention to such a seemingly imperceptible, at first glance, problem.
Can't open windows?
The main problem with skyscrapers, which no real estate agent will tell you about, is that windows above the 30th floor simply cannot be opened. That is why the cladding of at least the upper floors is made panoramic, and instead of ventsair conditioners are used. In general, as you climb in the house, many factors change, one of the most important is the atmosphere. The air from air conditioners helps to maintain balance, and at the same time provides a favorable temperature for people and rooms. Air conditioners in themselves do not cause any harm, but the inability to open windows for some becomes a good reason not to buy an apartment in a high-rise building.
The inconvenience of caring for pets
This issue only applies to pet lovers who take their pets for walks daily. If, for example, you have a big dog that needs to be walked every day, first think about buying an apartment in a high-rise. After all, you will spend enough time just to leave the house. Coupled with non-functioning elevators, it is possible to go down and up the stairs on foot.
Moreover, some animals are very sensitive to the environment they are in, which means that a high floor can only harm them. As a rule, living with pets is more convenient if the apartment is closer to the exit from the entrance, so it's definitely worth taking into account that caring for a pet on high floors is quite a challenge.
Expensive
And of course, the main disadvantage for residents of such houses is that as the floor increases, so does the price per square meter of an apartment. This is due to the fact that tall houses are harder to build and many would prefer to buy apartments on the top floors,than the first. The rent here is also higher than the first, because the water pressure, for example, is required more for the upper floors.
Conclusion
Despite all the shortcomings, life on a high floor for many may seem more comfortable, for some it is generally a luxury. The vast majority, according to polls, choose to live high up rather than on the first floors. Everyone will decide for himself where to live less unhe althy and more prosperous.
